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The European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite crashed into the Pacific Ocean. (Photo: ESA)
JAKARTA – The defunct European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite fell to Earth on Thursday (22/2/2024), after being in space for almost 30 years.
The satellite belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) re-entered Earth's atmosphere at 12:15 EST (1715 GMT) over the Pacific Ocean. The satellite's fall ended a nearly 13-year deorbiting phase that began with 66 engine burns in July 2011, depleting the satellite's remaining fuel.
“We have atmospheric return confirmation from ERS-2 at 17:17 UTC (18:17 CET) +/- 1 minute over the North Pacific Ocean between Alaska and Hawaii,” wrote ESA Operations in X complete with Google Maps coordinates where the satellite fell to Earth.
Space.com notes that it is unclear whether any debris fell to the surface after ERS-2 re-entered the atmosphere, but it is certain that none of the fragments contained toxic or radioactive substances.
Astronomer Jonathan McDowell posted a satellite reentry track in X, showing the location of a debris trail recorded by a radar system operated by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
ERS-2 is the size of a school bus and weighs 2,516 kilograms when full of fuel at launch. When it fell today it weighed around 2,294 Kg. Although quite large, the mass of this satellite is nothing unusual when it comes to re-entering space debris. Objects this size fall into Earth's atmosphere every few weeks.
When launched, ERS-2 was the most advanced Earth observation vehicle ever developed and launched by Europe. This satellite is designed to collect data about Earth's land, ice cover and oceans and help monitor the impact of natural disasters. “The ERS satellites have provided a stream of data that has changed our view of the world in which we live,” said Simonetta Cheli, Director of ESA's Earth Observation Program.
“They have provided new insights into our planet, the chemistry of our atmosphere, the behavior of our oceans, and the effects of human activities on our environment, creating new opportunities for scientific research and applications.”
ERS-2 crashed to Earth after mission controllers had no way to control or maneuver the satellite during its descent into the atmosphere. The satellite's batteries had run out before reentry, and all electronic systems had been disabled long before the descent began.
ESA representatives say this method is very safe, although some debris sometimes reaches the ground. “In 67 years of spaceflight, thousands of tons of artificial space objects have re-entered the atmosphere. Debris that reaches the surface very rarely causes any damage and there have never been any confirmed reports of human injury,” wrote ESA.
The ESA notes that a person's chance of being hit by lightning is 65,000 times higher than the risk of being hit by space debris in a lifetime. The chance that one particular person is hit by falling space debris each year is 1 in 100 billion.
(msf)